UAE university students’ experiences of virtual classroom learning during Covid 19

Abstract Virtual Classroom (VC) learning approaches have recently drawn considerable attention because they have the potential to encourage student engagement to ensure active and collaborative learning. Although research on online learning has gained visibility in recent times, VC learning has not received notable attention, especially in Gulf countries like the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study examines students’ perception and experience of VC in a university in UAE during the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of its necessity and helpfulness. This research also examines the situational pressure of VC and aims to explain the reasons for its desirability and inevitability. As a current learning space beyond the conventional face-to-face classroom learning, VC learning is available in various forms and quality depending…